Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt
Time Travelers Never Die is the latest book from Nebula Award winning author Jack McDeVitt. Even in his seventies, Jack McDeVitt is one of the premiere science fiction writers today. In the last few years, he has mostly focused on his Academy series that began with The Engines of God (1994). I’ve been a huge fan of his work ever since I read Eternity Road (1998) while in college.
Adrian “Shell” Shellborne works in public relations for Carbolite Systems. His life changes forever when is physicist of a father disappears one day in October 2018. While investigating, he uncovers that his father has created a device that allows the user to travel in time. Shell decides to track down his father’s whereabouts and, along the way, meets a wide assortment of historical figures. Shell must also deal with how to tell his girlfriend, Helen, that he is a time traveler.
Dave Dryden is a lifelong friend of Adrian Shellborne, and even though they come from completely different backgrounds, they have remained friends. Dave is a linguist and a professor of Latin whom Shell brings along on his search for his father. Dave has always had a crush on Helen but knows she loves Shell. He quickly finds time travel to be as addictive as Shell does.
Time Travel is one of my favorite subjects, and Jack McDeVitt handles it with ease. The lead characters of Shell and Dave really feel like they are best friends. The Q-pods are an interesting way for our characters to travel through time. They have a built-in system to prevent time paradoxes from happening. We get a great range of historical events and figures, including my favorite, Aritarchus from ancient Egypt, throughout the telling of the story. Our characters also go into their futures and poke around a bit, but the vast majority of the story takes place in the past. This was one of the best Science Fiction novels I read in 2009. I recommend Time Travelers Never Die to anyone wanting a good adventure story that just happens to take place over many different centuries.
Book Stats:
- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: Ace (October 26, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0441019552
- ISBN-13: 978-0441019557
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I have not heard of this author until now. He sounds like a guy to be put on my TBR list.